2nd Annual Summit on Intellectual Property for Wireless Tech & New Media

Foley sponsored The 2nd Annual Summit on Intellectual Property for Wireless Tech & New Media in San Francisco, California, on June 17 – 18, 2008.

With the continued expansion of wireless technology and advances in LAN applications, there virtually are no limits to the profits that can be made in intellectual property (IP) licensing … but as always, the devil is in the details.

Many critical topics were discussed, including:

• Best practices for dealing with standards bodies
• Convergence
• Patent reform
• Content distribution
• Damages
• Patent pools
• Antitrust
• Case law
• Patent portfolios 
• IP acquisition
• Trolls
• Licensing
• Essentiality

FOLEY AT THE SUMMIT

Pre-Conference Workshop
Creating and Managing Patent Portfolios

Tuesday, June 17, 2008
8:00 a.m.
Workshop A

Foley Presenters:

• Pavan K. Agarwal, Partner
• G. Peter Albert, Jr., Partner
• John J. Feldhaus, Partner

A high-technology company’s intellectual assets are often its most valuable assets. Securing protection for those assets can be the difference between a company thriving or merely surviving in a competitive market.

A robust IP portfolio adds value and also can be used defensively to avoid or mitigate litigation or to secure favorable licensing terms with others in the market.

This workshop focused on:

• Exploring various strategies and IP protection programs customized to address the issues facing wireless companies in today’s marketplace
• Evaluating how to proceed when parties cannot reach a mutually acceptable agreement
• Determining when to litigate, whether in the defensive threatened mode or in the offensive mode
• Understanding the value of joint defense groups
• Learning specific considerations and trends for patent-heavy courts such as the Eastern District of Texas

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Panel Discussion
Status Quo or Change?
Are the Standards Committees Still Effective Organizations?
Optimizing & Managing IP Relationships with Standards Bodies
Best Practices for Clearing IP Before Practicing the Standard

Tuesday, June 17, 2008
3:15 p.m.

Moderator:

• George C. Beck, Partner, Foley

Panelists:

• Kent Baker, Vice President & Patent Counsel, Qualcomm
• John J. Feldhaus, Partner, Foley
• Eric Janofsky, Vice President, Intellectual Property and General Patent Counsel, Marvell Semiconductor, Inc.

Standards are at the core of today’s technologies and are developed ideally to build consensus in an open process based on input from all interested parties. Certain contributors to these standards bodies are very protective of the status quo as they benefit from barriers to entry and receive major royalties. Others feel that the current environment needs to change to promote continued industry-wide innovation and competition. This panel debated the issues, including:

• Evaluating whether or not standards are safe and effective
• Forecasting how the status quo should evolve
• Evaluating whether or not the current environment encourages lawsuits and trolling activity
• Identifying how a reasonable and non-discriminatory licensing fee should be determined when joining the standards body
• Navigating potential complexities and understanding the anticipated tolls to be paid when entering the market
• Determining essentiality
• Managing how standards are adhered to internationally

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Patent Reform & Changes in Case Law Impacting the Wireless & New Media Industries

Wednesday, June 18, 2008
8:15 a.m.

Presenters:

• Steven C. Becker, Partner, Foley
• Bruce Bernstein, General Patent Counsel, Interdigital Communications Corp.
• Doug Luftman, Associate General Counsel, Intellectual Property, Palm

Congress has been actively engaged in patent-related legislative activities, attempting to balance the interests of the different industry groups. Will the wireless industry emerge with a better set of patent laws?

Issues particularly important to the wireless industry include damages reform, venue, willful infringement, post-grant opposition, and first-to-file. The courts, for their part, are making sweeping changes in how patents are construed and enforced. In re Seagate changed the standard for seeking advice of counsel to avoid a finding of willful infringement. Further guidance is coming from In re Bilski, Quanta Computer v. LG Electronics, and other cases. This session examined the impact of both legislative and case law changes on the wireless and new media industries.